The Uncharted Territories
by Zylimbron25
Summary: *CHAPTER 8 UP* The story continues...100 cycles into the future (Spoilers S4 BT) PLEASE REVIEW!!!
1. The Infiltration

**_The Uncharted Territories_**

**_Prologue – The Infiltration_**

**__**

**The majority of characters in this are the property of GTA Otaku, with the exception of one or two later on**

**The concept of the ****Uncharted****Territories****, Farscape and its races, worlds and customs are the property of Jim Hensons Workshop and RS O'Bannon.**

**Planet Hydra **

**Human Year 2002**

"Give me a break…we're in a BOAT!"

The alien ship did not seem to be listening. It simply continued its deadly approach.

For astronaut John Crichton though there was no fear…he could hear D'Argo screaming, he could here Chiana questioning, but it was drowned out by Aeryn's smile…her touch against his face. "You and your timing". She half laughed calmy, a soldier till the end.

"I love you". In that split second, it was all that mattered as John and Aeryn kissed for the last time…and the world became black…

…

**Peacekeeper Observation Post**

**Uncharted Territories**

**Human year 2097**

There was one base, and yet there were two.

There was the surface, a common place Peacekeeper Observation post used to monitor the border colonies and shipping lines, keeping the peace. Then there was the underground, the place that only a handful of people in the universe even knew existed.

One of those people was about to make an unscheduled appearance…

'Peacekeeper Observation, this is the transport ship Ie'Lior from Delvia Prime, we are experiencing engine difficulty, request immediate dock for repairs'

'Affirmative Ie'Lior, please inform all passengers of security procedures and restrictions prior to docking'.

'Affirmative Observation' The Pilot gave a sharp sigh of relief as the docking web took over and his ship glided into the Observation hanger bay. Mere microts after landing Peacekeeper Techs covered it, each one studying their assigned area as if with a fine-tooth comb.

The ship only had a handful of passengers, a group of Delvian priests making a pilgrimage to some nebula the Pilot had never heard of, but which was supposedly the birthplace of their Goddess and so the home of their ascension ritual, not that the pilot cared as long as he got paid for his services there and back.

It occurred to him that unless the ship got working soon, he wouldn't get paid minklets.

He looked again at the readings. The ship was an old model but it was still very reliable and shouldn't be experiencing engine trouble of this magnitude without at least a cycles warning. At first he had thought it a sensor malfunction, but he doubted that all his sensors were capable of failing simultaneously. Sighing with frustration he gave his passengers a quick nod and exited the ship to find the Peacekeeper tech assigned to its repair. "How is she looking Tech?" The Pilot asked.

"Looks like one of your primary relays was twisted, short circuited the power coupling for the right engine"

"Twisted, what the frell could have caused that".

"The question is _who_ the frell caused that? I'm afraid to report sir that you appear to have a saboteur on board".

Saboteur!

Without so much as a backward glance, the Pilot half jumped back onto his ship. All of the Delvian priests looked at him from behind the veils covering their faces, assigned attire for the pilgrimage, but despite the shadows they created he could still see that they all bore genuinely questioning and slightly annoyed glances.

It was in fact a few microts before anyone noticed the chair at the back of the ship, occupied only by a heap of clothing covering the seat and surrounding floor, the only trace of the person who had sat there earlier…

…in almost perfect reach of the damaged area.

'Intruder alert. Intruder alert'

The ventilation of the bases life support system was narrow so that even a Hynerian child would have had trouble navigating it. Because of this no one thought it a problem to have one ventilation system for both the observation post and the Gammak base hidden underneath.

It provided the perfect passage for both air and something within the air that despite sentience was not of its physical form…at least not yet.

The particles were an essence, the remnants of a being soon to be whole again as they entered the base of the underground, the base only a handful knew existed…the home of the top Sebacean researchers…and the project that would change the future for an entire species.

The particles filtered through the grid of the ventilation, observing the room through the sounds and hearing none that indicated a presence other than their own as they began to merge, bonding to one another in a glow of warm energy, using the DNA they held to grow skin, hair, eye colour and height, information for the loose black clothing she wore, a bag worn upon 'transport'. It took ten microts and at the end where the particles had clouded together a bipedal girl who from a certain angle would have appeared no different from a Sebacean now stood, taking a deep breathe of the air as her lungs regained function, and the blood started to flow through her formed muscles and organs. She opened her eye and observed the room for the first time, a corridor leading to the base main entrance, a passage way to the observation base above.

'Intruder alert. Intruder alert'

"Quick, this way". Footfall…getting louder…getting CLOSER.

The girl turned to face it and the radiant gill on her face glowed brightly in her fear of discovery by such numbers. She sprinted away…darting into the nearest corridor and…knelt with her head tucked into her clothing to hide the brightly glowing gill as they ran through the main corridor, rifles ready to fire at the slightest unexpected sound or movement.

The Banik girl didn't even allow herself to breathe until their footfalls had passed into a distant memory, and even then it was some time before she remerged from her hiding place…

…and found herself face to face with a security Peacekeeper left behind to watch the entrance.

He didn't say anything, with a smile like that he didn't have to as he approached her, gun ready to stun the young girl…or worse.

However he had made the mistake of underestimating her, for while she feared many Peacekeepers the girl knew from experience that she could more than handle one.

As the gun fired she jumped down beneath the blast…practically sliding between his parted legs to a standing position behind…kicking up as he turned…sending the rifle flying across the room.

The Peacekeeper's counter attack aimed for the hollow of her shoulder beneath the neck. She darted round and the intended fatal blow becoming little more than a sharp slap…but still a nauseating feeling consumed her throat…she doubled over. Clasped hands hit her back, knocking her off balance and sending her to the floor. She took it as a vantage point and wrapped her arms around his ankles…pulling them together and forcing him to trip over her own rolling form…landing in a sprawled heap. She stood quickly and as he followed suite jumped up to both double kick his chest and propel herself backwards across the room…landing on her hands and back flipping several times before stopping in a standing position.

It was a few microts before the Peacekeeper registered that during her stunt the Banik had landed on and picked up the pulse rifle…it was a few more before he realised that she knew how to use it.

He was dead before he had even hit the floor.

Dropping the heavy and traceable rifle, the Banik proceeded further into the base.

Getting in turned out to be the easy part…the arrogant Peacekeeper's hadn't expected anyone to get into the base, and with the exception of a few cameras security was pathetic.

However as ignorant as they may have been for a species, Peacekeepers did have one quality…

They learned from their mistakes…and they learned fast.

Her mission completed the Banik had intended to make a break for the small prowler hanger on the other side of the base, but during the run had found herself in a cavern of interconnected walkways around a long…long drop which amazed her that it didn't reach the core on the pathetically small planet the Gammak base occupied. There were forty peacekeepers in the underground, and they were all heading for her, and as good a fighter as she was the young Banik didn't like the odds.

She gave herself a time to catch her breathe…but only a few could be managed before footfalls once again filled her hearing…this time from both sides of the walkway she occupied. She stood tall and found herself surrounded, Peacekeepers with their rifles raised ready to fire if she refused the survivor instinct to surrender. She wasn't going to make it to the prowler bay as planned.

The Banik instinctively reached round to lay a hand on her bag, gently squeezing the material so she could feel what was inside, the reason for her infiltration. Such a small vial, and yet it held so much.

The lead guard was saying something, but with her heartbeat so strong in her ears she couldn't hear anything other than the consideration of the only option she had left. The girl was young and still tired from the last transformation…running hadn't helped. If she tried again would the strain be enough to kill her…and even if that didn't it was a long journey home through the vacuum of space…could she survive it in her transposed form? Had anyone ever even tried? She hoped the answers were in her favour as she climbed over the railings of the walkway…

…the gill, visible to the guards for she wore no mask or cover…began to fluctuate and darken. She blinked and it became a void of pitch black, like a hole in her face…

…and she jumped, leaving the Peacekeepers unable to do anything but watch as her body glowed and disintegrated upon contact with the ground far below, golden dust dispersing as it began its journey to the surface far above.


	2. Thoughts of the Princess

**_The Uncharted Territories_**

**_Part 1 – Thoughts of the Princess_**

****

**We have yet to own the rights to Farscape…We are just borrowing it**

**The Royal Planet**

**The Uncharted Territories**

My Brother Tyno and I have always been different from the other children.

For a start there's the age thing. You see, you may not believe it to look at me, but I am nearly eighteen cycles, though I appear not a day over fourteen. My Brother is ten cycles, but he looks eight.

Then there is personality, oh my brother is pretty much 'normal' on that account, always reading his books and quoting the scholars like some kind of encyclopaedia. Myself on the other hand, I've always had an adventurer's instinct to leave behind what was known and see the undiscovered, the uncharted. As a child I expressed no interests in my lessons of history or politics, a trait both uncharacteristic and undesirable of one who is to ascend to the thrown.

My Father, the Regent Crichton, always use to assure my mother that I would grow out of it...

I never did…I still dream of travelling the stars…I've just learnt to hide it.

Of course, they are just dreams, and soon even living will be a distant memory as I fast approach the day which marks my birth. I am being called upon to find a suitor, one who is genetically compatible so that together we shall embrace the stone for eighty cycles…watching and learning all we can for the day we rule by each others side.

It is my destiny…my duty to the people of my world…

… it sucks mivonks.

_"Jonah"._ __She considered not answering the voice at first, hiding so it would appear that she was not in the room, perhaps walking through the gardens to clear her head before the party.

Her mother was already at the door before the young girl had finished making up her mind.

"Jonah, I see that you are ready". The Princess was indeed ready, dressed in her finest of clothes, hair immaculate, and make up perfect. She looked like a painting to her mother, the radiant features of her the empress pronounced, complimented by those beautiful eyes…the crystal blue eyes…

"Smile my daughter", The Empress Katralla beckoned of her eldest child. "Tonight is a very special night".

"Yes Mother, very special". Jonah winced at the unintentional tone her voice had taken on, knowing how much it must have upset her mother, her mother who had such high expectations and had already suffered so much, who did not deserve any more pain.

Instead of the reaction she had been expecting however, Jonah found herself enveloped in her mothers warm embrace, the taller woman burying the girls head in her shoulders, stroking her hair like she use to when Jonah suffered nightmares as a child. Jonah remembered what was so special about today, and how she may never feel her mothers heartbeat against her own chest again…it was all she could do not to break down in sobs as Empress Katralla pushed her away to frame her daughters face in her hands, stroking a gentle thumb across the Princess's cheek to dry the few tears that had fallen.

"I know that tonight is one of the hardest nights you will ever live" Empress Katralla closed her eyes, and Jonah imagined that she was remembering her own party nearly a century before that night. "But as my daughter I know that strength is within you to undertake the task that as first born you must fulfil". She stepped round and walked over towards the door. "I love you".

"I love you to Mother". Jonah mirrored her mothers smile as she left the room. Sighing, she turned to reapply the eye makeup that her tears had dislodged, but instead found herself closely studying the moon outside…the stars fascinated her…though she never knew why.

Somewhere in the distance, she heard the music. The party had started.

_The Essence_

_Take the drop, place it on your tongue…he does the same and they touch…you mix the tastes…you sample the smell of the other…let the essence spread. _

_You kiss…let the essence consume you…sink into him and read him like a book…his genetics compared to your own. _

_Recoil back because it tastes sour, your tongue stings as you swallow the last of the foul substance, its after taste burning your throat. It is not sweet…he is not the one. _

Jonah didn't know whether to laugh or cry as yet another potential suitor walked away, his face crestfallen. In all of five seconds he had lived the dream of possible Regency and watched it fall away with just a simple kiss.

From the other side of the hall she could see that the expressions of her parents were similar…obviously as eager as everyone else was that Jonah find a suitor that night.

She smiled at her father, who returned the gesture with a simple nod before leaning down to speak to Tyno, Jonah's younger brother and she felt a better suitor for the throne than she would ever be. She could barely keep her own life in order sometimes, how the frell was she suppose to cope with the population of a whole planet, even with help.

As if on cue, another potential 'helper' approached her, nodding his silent request to share with her the kiss. She agreed, her reluctance remaining private as they went through the steps of the ritual…touching…kissing…different…

…his essence consumed her in a different way, a violent electricity which seemed to spread out through her body, she almost shook as it reached its peak before regressing to a dull ache in her thighs and between them as she tasted the substance in her mouth…sampled how sweet it was.

Sweet, again she didn't know whether to laugh or to cry, but the man with whom she had shared the kiss shared no such inner conflict. "It is sweet". He announced to the crowd who had gathered to observe the kiss, who now cheered as guards surrounded the future couple, the music arrested to await the announcement.

The Regent Crichton stood before his daughter and her suitor, facing the crowd with his arms raised in a gesture that requested silence. "My loyal subjects…the Princess my loving daughter has found tonight a suitor who will bare her strong children for the future generations, with whom she will embrace the stone and protect those who are to come. Let the celebrations begin".

At that the music began again, more upbeat this time as the suitor leaned in to kiss her again. Jonah kissed him back…although as she blinked a single tear traced its way down her cheek, the closest thing her body may ever come to the journey it so greatly desired.

The suitor's name was Piotre. He wished to be a poet and writer by trade, a skill which would serve him when he was required to write motivating speeches or dinner addresses.

The morning Jonah had as a time to get to know her future husband. She concluded that most of his gentleman niceties were a front, although his wonderful sense of humour was not something that could be faked…and he did make her laugh…did make her temporarily forget how she felt inside.

The afternoon they underwent further testing, conformation of their genetic compatibility. They were also measured for their clothing, and adviced to decide on a pose that they desired to embrace the stone.

At the same time they used the hologram to see their future children, beautiful children with their father's blonde hair and build, their mother's eyes with everything except the longing. Jonah held the female infant in her arms, its tiny fingers clasped around her own, and she smiled through her tears as she handed the baby to her father, showed Crichton and Katralla.

The evening was her own, but instead of the sleep she so obviously needed, Jonah preferred to sneak back into the hologram chamber. She had often snuck in to the room as a child, because it was the only room in the palace rarely frequented the one room where she could be alone when she wished to be.

_'Why do I feel like this_?' She thought to herself. _'I have every reason to be happy. Am I just being selfish? Why does everything feel like a lie?'_

_'Why do you let them live your life for you' Another thought_

_'I must fulfil my duty to my people'_

_'You have served the people your whole life. What about yourself, what about Jonah Crichton'_

Footfalls…she abandoned the internal conversation and slowly crept round to hide behind one of the stone pillars that supported the structure, peering in to the room to watch a shadow approach the hologram. The light activated and Jonah saw that it was her mother, the Empress Katralla dressed in the gown she had worn when she had embraced the stone herself ninety eight cycles previously. She had embraced late Jonah had heard, almost a decade after she had been suppose to…something about the right suitor being such a minority…a poisoning of her DNA that only one person could overcome.

"John Crichton" She demanded of the matrix…but why…why would she wish to see a hologram of Jonah's father…

…the man which appeared in the hologram was not her father however. He was a tall man with brown unkempt hair and dressed in what appeared to be peacekeeper uniform…although all that Jonah had to go on was the images she had seen…but she didn't think that this man stood before her mother was a peacekeeper…his eyes had to much brightness in them. Peacekeepers were zombies her father had always said…her father was John Crichton so who was this man…

"Jonah has found a great suitor. She will embrace the stone". The hologram said nothing but smiled. "Your son Tyno grows stronger every day, and asks more questions than even the scientists dare to comprehend. They are both so much like you…different parts of you…Tyno has your intelligence and desire for knowledge…Jonah your love of the stars. She even learned to be a pilot, though she knows that she will never use her skills. Tyno…the one who bears your name and title…says that it is a determination that will serve her well in the coming cycles". Katralla reached out and took the holograms hand within her own, stepping into the matrix. "Watch over them Crichton…your daughter and son". They embraced, and as the hologram deactivated Katralla left the room.

Jonah didn't even realise that she had been holding her breathe until Katralla was gone, and then she could only manage it in short, usless hitches as she approached the matrix herself. "Jo…John Crichton". She demanded of it, but instead of the man her mother had spoken to Jonah was presented with an image of her father…of the John Crichton she knew…the Regent.

_Tyno__…the one who bears your name and title_

_Watch over them Crichton…your daughter and son_

"Are you my Father?" She asked, both of the image she was seeing and of the one that had stood before.

Nobody is perfect, everybody does things that they regret, acts born out of greed or selfishness, or simply out of a great desire to know the truth. It is part if nature, something anyone would do in a situation like this one.

No matter how many times Jonah told herself that it didn't make her feel any better as she snuck into her parents chamber…absent with her parents conducting affairs of the state. Her heart was beating so hard she thought it might break out of her thorax as she carefully pulled the chest out from under her parent's bed and opened it, coughing slightly as disturbed dust entered the air. As impossible as it seemed, her heartbeat seemed to increase in both rate and intensity, for from beyond this action there was no turning back. She was still for several minutes, her hands rested over the clothe, shaking slightly as she thought…she had to know…she had to…

She pulled the clothe back and studied the dates labelling each manuscript until she found the right one, the one narrating events right up until her mother took the throne…

_I know that my DNA is poisoned by Clavor's hand. I pray that a mistake has been made, that there is still a suitor…but deep down I know that by this act my Brother has assured his passage to the throne. He will be King, and as greatly as it pains me…there is nothing I can do to stop it._

__

_I almost did not believe it when it happened, but alas I have found a suitor despite my brothers intervention. His name is Crichton, an outsider with a mercenary type Leviathan known as Moya. At first I feared that he would choose that life over the one that our compatibility grants him, but my Mother the Empress is wise, and has assured his loyalty to our cause. He has seen our children, seen the future, and seen the face of his enemy the Hybrid man Scorpious._

__

_I carry Crichton's child, I discovered this morning on the day that I am to embrace the stone. He does not know, and I shall not tell him until after we have completed the cycle, I do not want him to see it as leverage to embrace along side me…at the end I wish for it to be his complete decision. He needs little persuasion anyway._

__

_Eighty cycles have passed. I carry Crichton's child, but he shall never see her. He was unable to return to the stone, so Tyno took his name and place by my side. Crichton returned to Moya, returned to his old life. He is probably dead now, so far into his future. I shall miss him. We kept some of his DNA for future children, children who we shall claim as Tyno's…no one will ever know except myself and my husband. _

Jonah felt for a moment that she was reading a story, not a recital of history about her own life, her own past. Crichton, her father Crichton was Tyno, who despite genetic incompatibility had agreed to rule beside his wife, his true love. Herself and her brother were the result of DNA implantation, the child of a man who had lived over ninety cycles ago, who wasn't even Sebacean. No wonder they ages so slowly, no wonder she longed for the stars.

Part of her felt angry, the truth had been kept her whole life, locked away from her and her brother. Should she tell them that she knew, should she tell her brother…no…it would ruin everything. He loved his Father so much, she would not tarnish that. But what of herself, she knew now, and she could unlearn what she had learned…but she could use it…

…to give purpose to her plan.


	3. Never Goodbye

**_The Uncharted Territories_**

**_Part 2 – Never Goodbye_**

**__**

**The only thing I own are Jonah and Tyno Junior. Farscape ain't mine :' - {**

Jonah was relying completely on memory and hearing as she navigated the pitch black halls of the palace for the last time. It was the darkest moment before dawn, the perfect time to make her escape without being noticed, or so she had believed at first as she climbed towards the open window…for to use the door would have attracted too much attention…and noticed the reflection in the glass indicating movement behind her. Jonah turned quickly…and found herself facing the bright eyes of her brother Tyno, their surface quivering from unshed tears.

"Tyno". She whispered, jumping down to his level. "How long have you been following me?"

The younger boy nodded towards the open window. "You're leaving aren't you?"

"I…I" Think of an excuse…none, Tyno could read a situation like a book, he would know if she was lying. "I have to; I can't stay here and have my whole life decided for me".

Silence…unbearable silence. No words to discourage her, scolding over how selfish she was, tell her not to abandon her people. Part of her actually wanted to hear them, wanted to be told to stay it was strange.

"I'll miss you". Her brother's final reply was a choked whisper, always supportive of her ideas no matter how outrageous.

She embraced him, feeling his tears dampen her top. "You could come with me". She suggested, almost as a reflex.

"No. Without you it falls to me to take you place on the throne".

She had not even considered that. "I'll stay". She could not wish her pain onto her own brother, flesh and blood.

"No it's what I want…I want to embrace the stone, so you can embrace life".

"Tyno". She pulled him back to look him in the eye, eyes that showed he was not lying. He was truly willing to sacrifice everything. She gently dried his tears with her thumb the way Katralla had hers the evening before.

"Pro…promise me you'll come back one day".

"I promise". She placed her hand on his chest, palm over his beating heart. The boy actually managed to smile as Jonah repeated her climb to the open window for the last time …pulling her bag behind her. They did not say goodbye, because they both completely believed that they would see each other again one day.

Tyno returned to his chamber…never making another sound.

Jonah, swallowing hard, proceeded towards the hanger bay of the planet for the last time.


	4. Meeting Nykarene

**_The Uncharted Territories_**

**_Part 3 – Meeting Nykarene_**

**__**

**I own Nykarene, Jonah and the Tenethor Planet**

**Jim Henson own everything else, right down to the floorboards**

**Tenethor**** Commerce planet**

The figure was shrouded; no one could see her face but if they could they would be able to see the fair complexion and how sharply it contrasted the black plastic material which covered the right side of her face, the whole shape framed by hair matted from lack of attention and static from the hood.

It had been three solar days since Nykarene had infiltrated the research base, and as common sense had suggested she had not been strong enough to get from the base to her destination. By the time she had realised this she was left with barely enough energy to regain her physical form on the nearest habitable planet, the commerce planet she inhabited now. The whole episode had left her incredibly weak, unable to even consider another attempt at transport, and without funds she could not buy another ship.

The Banik was well and truly stuck.

She risked a glance over her shoulder, but found that no one was watching her sitting at the bar, nursing the same drink she had been nursing over an arn before, watching the somewhat luminescent blue liquid climb the walls of the glass as she turned it round and round in her hands, her own reflection within the liquid obscured. She was grateful for she did not desire attention…she doubted if that many free Banik's were wandering the planet.

"I'm looking for information on a Leviathan named Moya". Nykarene didn't believe she had heard the sentence until she had turned her head to see the source. A girl stood on the other side of the room, roughly the Banik's age possibly older, and dressed in simple travelling robes. Her hair was brown, her eyes a bright blue, and to the empathic Nyka it appeared that the remorse was radiating of her like a perfume. "Please, my ship is looking for her. Moya, have you ever heard…?"

The Luxan she was asking simply shook his head and ignored any further questioning. The girl, obviously frustrated, took a seat next to his with her back to the door.

Moya, she was with a ship looking for Moya. What were the odds, surely there was more chance of being swallowed by a Budong. Nykarene kept her eye on the girl as she spoke to the bartender, asking the same question she had asked the Luxan. The Banik didn't want to approach the girl in the bar, that would attract too much unwanted attention…wait till later…the girl must be staying somewhere…follow her to her ship. She finished her drink, cringing slightly as the aftertaste hit her full force, and made to motion the bartender over…

…but was stopped by the forced opening of the door. The entrance to the bar became covered by the thick frame of what could only be a Sebacean guard, although his attire was not Peacekeeper.

The Banik instinctively crept round to kneel behind the bar…she really didn't want to be seen by any form of security right now.

"I am looking for someone, a Sebacean girl by the name of Jonah Crichton. Does anyone have any information?"

The name sounded strangely familiar to Nykarene, as if she had heard it muttered in a different form before, and it also seemed familiar to the girl she had been watching, her blue eyes widening as she became deadly still, the only person in the bar not looking at the guard…which the crowd noticed…and the guard.

He approached her, his hand reaching out to take her shoulder and force her round.

Still kneeling down behind the bar, Nykarene stretched out her own hand, and with the other removed her mask, the intensity of the light hidden by her thick hood.

To the rest of the crowd, the guard turned the young girl sitting at the bar to face them…

…to the guard, the female he had in his hand was an old crone, the skin tanned with age, the eyes wide with fear.

"Apologies ma'am". The guard bowed out of politeness before turning back towards the door. A few microts later and activity in the bar returned to the way it had been before, except that the now quiet girl at the bar was very close to hyperventilation as she half fell from her stool and retreated up the stairs in the corner to the lodgings above the bar.

Nykarene replaced her mask, rising from her partial hiding place without even bothering to hide the immensely proud grin her face held.

She loved doing that.

The 'lodgings' she had hired was a bed within a communal dormitory, pathetically small but comfortable, a compliment from one use to sleeping in the best beds currency could purchase. At that very moment that was the least of her concerns as Jonah rushed into the thankfully empty room and fell onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. The whole incident rushed through her mind again and again…playing over the same twenty seconds.

She had recognised the guard, he was one of her fathers personal staff…he had seen her grow up, knew her every feature. Why hadn't he recognized her when her face had been barely a foot away from him.

She closed her eyes, trying to flood her mind with images, but all she could see were those of home, of her family, of her brother. Frell, it had been two solar days, and the guards were so close to finding her they were on the same planet. She couldn't keep this up for long…she would have to go back home…although she was afraid to even consider the consequences of the actions she had taken.

Why hadn't the guard recognised her?

She heard someone climbing the stairs to the lodgings. "Who is there?" She said, trying to mask her voice as best she could as she turned to make ready a quick escape.

"A friend". Standing at the top of the stairs was the girl who had been sat opposite Jonah in the bar, her hood down to reveal short, messy red hair and a masked face. Jonah instantly recognised her as a Banik, even though this was the first one she had ever actually met.

"Jonah Crichton". The younger girl correctly assumed. "I trust you have recovered from your incident in the bar".

"It was you…you did something back there?" Jonah realised, intrigued.

Without warning, the stranger removed the mask she wore showing Jonah for the first time the incredible brightness that engulfed the 'missing' portion of her face. At the same time a strange image appeared in front of Jonah, like a flying bird, so real she felt she could reach out and touch it.

"I am a Banik of the Nykarene sub-species. I have the ability to alter perception, create illusions…hallucinations". The younger girl watched as Jonah reached out, her hand passing through the bird slightly, as if it was air. She waited a few microts, and then replaced the black mask. The image of the bird disappeared with the glowing light. "It's draining; I wouldn't have been able to hide you for much longer back there".

Jonah tried not to think of the possible outcome…had the guard stayed just a few microts longer. "Why did you hide me?"

"Because we are both seeking the same thing it seems". She invited herself to sit on the bed beside Jonah's. "I have information on Moya, not only how to contact Moya, but her exact location…which lucky for you also happens to be my destination at the present time". Nykarene smiled. "If your ship would be willing to offer passage, I would be willing to share my knowledge…be your guide".

Jonah considered this complete stranger who wanted conditional passage on her ship, without any form of reason other than that Moya was where she needed to be. Nykarene seemed to sense her apprehension.

"Trust me Jonah you most probably won't find a much better proposition anywhere else, these territories aren't called uncharted for nothing you know".

It was true that she was unlikely to find a better offer, but was this offer genuine?

"I saved you from the guard didn't I?" Nykarene reminded her, a token of goodwill.

Jonah breathed in, held it, and then let it go. "I'm leaving tomorrow at dawn, Meet here". She pointed at the floor indicating the room they were stood in.

"You won't regret this Jonah Crichton". The Banik assured her before making her exit, a mischievous twinkle in her eye as she passed the Princess.

**Tenethor**** Orbit**

The ship Jonah had 'borrowed' was a private transport for no more than four people, which meant it had more than enough room for the two girls and their cargo for the trip. Nykarene explained that their destination was a region of space called Kelsa Yon, a Leviathan holy ground.

"Like a temple?" Jonah asked, but Nykarene simply smiled enigmatically, not answering the question.

Jonah skilfully piloted the ship out of orbit of the planet, pointing it in the direction Nyka had given her. "Why do you need to go to a Leviathan holy ground?" She asked the Banik.

"I'm meeting someone…Business". Nyka looked at Jonah out of the corner of her eye. "Yourself?"

"My father…I'm trying to track him down, and he use to be a crew member on Moya". She ignored the nagging voice telling her that after nearly a hundred cycles he was most probably dead, for every instinct and feeling was telling her otherwise.

"And the guard, are you an escaped prisoner?"

"I…it depends what you mean by prisoner".

"My parents were slaves".

The Princess shook her head. "I wasn't a slave…not in that sense of the word. I was in the hierarchy, destined for great things, but the power and responsibility wasn't what I desired. I wanted control over my life to see the stars and live my dreams. So I ran away… to be free". Jonah turned to face Nykarene and felt guilt. Baniks as a race were good at hiding their feelings, but nothing could mask that look in the younger girl's eye. "What am I calling a lack of freedom? You were a slave"

"My parents were slaves". She smiled proudly. "I'm uninhibited".

"What does that mean?"

Nyka pointed towards her plastic mask. "No metal. When my people are born into slavery the parasympathetic functions of the gill is disrupted, removing their ability to naturally control the energy. It makes them…"

"Makes them Easier to control". Jonah finished.

Nyka nodded. "Although I wear one, I don't really require any form of mask…" Her speech broken by a yawn she looked down at the tier floor. "Not many people of my people can say that". The Banik said nothing more, angling her body away slightly to signal the end of the current conversation.

Silence filled the small ship.

"So…Nyka…what kind of business do you do?" Jonah asked, just as eager to change the subject.

"Varies". Nyka was more or less talking in her sleep.

Jonah programmed in the coordinates she had been given, switched the ship to auto pilot, and followed suite.


	5. Ghost From The Past

**_The Uncharted Territories_**

**_Part 4 – Ghost From The Past_**

**__**

**I do not own Farscape, or a car…**

The Command Carrier was the pride of the Sebacean Peacekeeper fleet. The home of its greatest Admirals, the home of its best soldiers.

The home of the aurora chair.

Experiencing the marvel first hand, the officer swallowed bile, his head pounding with a pain he didn't even know himself as capable of feeling. The observing superior seemed blind to his agony, blind to everything except the knowledge he desired. "I know you leaked information about the location of our Leviathan research facility. I know you gave this information to the Illuminate colony, and I know that you were responsible partly for their infiltration and escape". He summed up the last arns session perfectly. The officer could not believe he had revealed so much. "Where are they taking the data? Where is the Illuminate's staging ground". The officer said nothing, he had betrayed so much…he would not betray any more.

The chair could smell a hidden thought, and it knew how to unlock it. The pain was searing, like a fire travelling across his mind and leaving all behind in a cold darkness. The officer closed his eyes in agony, and breathed his last.

"The setting was too high". The attendant explained as she deactivated the chair. "His mind was liquefied in the extraction". Trickles of blood began to trail down the officers face from his closed eyes and nose.

"It doesn't matter". The superior smiled. "I got what I needed just before he died". He gave the dead officer one last look then turned to face his attendant directly. "Send a message to the capital ship. Tell them to set course for Kelsa Yon".

_Kelsa__ Yon _

The first thing Jonah noticed was the Leviathans, hundreds of Leviathans. The site was beautiful, and yet it for all its grandeur the view was tinged by the sense of deep sadness and regret…

…for each one of the magnificent creatures was dead.

This 'holy place' was a graveyard, where Leviathan went to die.

Nykarene leant over, entering a series of coordinates into the computer under Jonah's hands. The Sebacean Princess didn't ask the Banik how she had come to learn the inner workings of the transport, especially as she had mostly slept the entire three day journey, she just watched numbly as the location of Moya was entered, and a single ship highlighted from the others. "That's her". Nykarene verified. "That's Moya".

The Leviathan Moya was much larger than some of her fellow ships, possibly due to her advanced age signified by the exterior bio skin faded and old, with evidence of intense burning in some areas. The docking bay was open when they approached as if a ship had left the Leviathan and no one had thought to close the door behind them…the ship was abandoned…alone in the holy ground it had come to seeking release…seeking death.

"Land her over there". Nykarene directed. "We're going to need environmental suits".

Jonah…despite the emotion of the situation…felt herself become excited again as the ship landed upon the solid hull of Moya…they were here, on her Father's ship.

They were going to find him.

Once out of the docking bay the girls the Leviathan still held an environment, and the air did not seem stale to breath as they removed the heavy environmental suits. Nykarene knew what this meant, but she didn't tell her companion…who seemed upset enough just finding the ship so derelict. Nykarene was starting to get to know Jonah quite well, especially as the Princess was very open about herself and her past…one that seemed sheltered enough to suggest it not being a good idea to inform Jonah that through everything the ship was still…by all senses of the word…alive.

The corridors were dark, the internal membrane peeling in places as a result of the burning scorch marks that covered it. This Leviathan had been through quite a battle it seemed. The only sound was their footsteps and breathing.

"We should split up". Nykarene suggested. "We'll cover more ground quicker that way".

Jonah was a little apprehensive about walking alone through a ghost ship, especially as besides her book based studies she had no familiarity with the structure. Silly she thought to herself, after searching the Uncharted Territories without guidance…what was one little ship. "Ok, but keep the comms open just in case…in case we find something useful". _Nice Save_ She silently commended herself.

The Banik offered to take the lower levels and ran off in one direction, so Jonah followed the other leading to the upper tiers and command. She held one hand against the wall while her flashlight penetrated the thick darkness and continued to follow the same wall, peering into the odd empty cell or chamber for what felt like arns until she found herself looking into a chamber far larger than those before, the darkness concealing what the far wall held. Without anything else to go on…she squeezed through the gap in the door, and entered the room.

Where were they? Surely they couldn't be any later than she was.

Perhaps they had thought her dead and abandoned the plan, or perhaps…

Either way she had a mission to complete…even if she did so alone.

Sliding through the hatch to enter a tiny access way, Nykarene placed a hand on the membrane before her. Taking a breath, she reached into her bag and pulled out a small knife with which she made a small slit in the membrane, small enough to squeeze through but not so big as to cause more discomfort to the ship than she needed to. She took another deep breath and slowly removed her mask, exposing the gill to the air that it needed and allowing her energy to flow out, through the hole before her…the physical form disintegrating to follow and reform on the other side of the membrane. She left the mask and torch behind…using her own energy to light the oviduct she now stood in…one way leading to the uterus, the other to the ovaries she required.

It was there that Nykarene found that a new follicle had not yet developed, and probably never would again, which meant that there was no egg readily available for fertilisation. She knelt down next to the ovary membrane, reaching into her bag and pulling out one of the vials she had stolen from the research base.

It was so small…and yet it held so much.

Carefully she activated it, extending a needle long enough for her to inject directly into the ovary, inserting the hormone within to stimulate follicle growth and the release of an egg. The ovary began to glow slightly, indicating that the hormone was working. She put the vial back into her bag, quickly checking the second and most important vial as she did so. Leaving the oviduct the same way she had entered and retrieving her mask she leant against the wall opposite the hatchway. The follicle development would take a few solar days, it was simply a waiting game until then.

Of course Jonah would be a problem…but possibly one that would sort itself out once the girl's search inevitably took her off the ship, leaving Nykarene behind to 'await her employers'. Replacing her mask, Nykarene decided to do a quick sweep of the lower tiers. If she helped the Princess in her search it would be finished faster.

Then Jonah would be gone…and Nykarene's mission could continue as planned.

Jonah couldn't help the involuntary shiver that had come to possess her spine, her eyes darting from corner to corner, dust molecule to air as she walked through the large chamber. Her flashlight scanned the walls…ceiling…and settled on the central unit which she recognised from her studies as the crucial Pilot's Den.

It was occupied.

She gasped, holding her breathe as she slowly approached the still being of the pilot, the disk of light from her torch growing upon him as she moved closer to the…to the…to the hollowed out husk, it's empty eyes staring into oblivion from the decaying skull.

Jonah screamed…falling backwards to land on a rusty DRD and send it skidding across the floor, falling into the bottomless cavern below. She did not hear it land, didn't hear anything except her own heart beat as she focused on the eyes of the pilot's corpse. Quickly she jumped up, running to the end of the catwalk and out into the corridor, hitting the opposite wall with a hardness that seemed to vibrate through the dead ship. The torch was clutched to her pounding chest like a life line.

_FOCUS_ She hit the comm. Badge.

"Nyka…Nyka". _Hard to breathe_ "I found…Pilot…he's…"

"Okay, stay where you are I'll be right there". The comm went dead and the waiting period began, and Jonah noticed for the first time just how quiet the corridor was, save for a distant rumble barely above a whispers pitch…like a moan. The air was breathable but cold, the corridor dark…alone.

"Jonah?" Nykarene arrived. Jonah didn't say anything; she simply nodded towards the door to the Pilot's chamber. Nykarene took her own torch and entered, seeing for herself the remains of the pilot…dedicated to his ship until the end. She grimaced; the Banik had seen too much death in her life.

Jonah's breathing began to calm down and she stood, her posture shaky but solid. "He must have died with the Leviathan". She found her voice again. "He couldn't leave like the rest of the crew".

Nykarene nodded and made to leave the room, but was instead tripped over the door by a sudden jolt that ran throughout the ship. A moment of silence was followed by a second jolt far more violent than the previous.

"What the frell was THAT, a solar storm?" Jonah asked, helping the Banik to her feet. Another jolt, they fell into each other and the wall. A moan filled the corridors, like a wounded animal crying from the distance, yet so loud it was deafening… jolt. "We should get back to the ship?" Jonah suggested, shouting over the noise.

Nykarene shook her head. "The hanger is open to space". She reminded the girl. "If this is a storm, it won't be safe". Another jolt, but this time they managed to hold their ground. Nykarene tried to think of where they could go. "Command…follow me".

Through all the noise and speed they never noticed what was watching them.

They never saw it follow.


	6. Conspiracy and Sacrifice

**_The Uncharted Territories_**

**_Part 5 – Conspiracy and Sacrifice_**

**__**

**Despite exhaustive efforts, I still don't own Farscape or any of its characters. I own Nykarene and Jonah, nothing more. **

He could still remember the day he had been honoured with the implant, the day the world had become so much brighter, sounds so much sweeter, crisp and clear. He could see everything, be anywhere…it had overwhelmed him at first but he had adapted, he had come to enjoy the feelings, appreciate the company.

Then one day the voice had become silent, his head the empty void it had been before…he was alone like before, unless he imagined its presence and remembered words and phrases, conversations they had had about the stars, about the universe, philosophy and history. He had slept, not wishing to leave her, not wishing to walk the halls alone.

When the voice had returned he had believed it to be a dream, until he heard the words…heard that the phrase was a new phrase…felt the pain it carried.

Command wasn't in much better a shape than the rest of the Leviathan, covered in broken circuitry and debris resultant from countless explosions. Surprisingly however, despite the extensive damage, some of the consoles still worked, including the sensors. It was this that Nykarene approached, activating it and running scans of both the exterior and interior of the Leviathan. By that time the worst of the jolts and noise had stopped, reduced to mild shakes and quiet but audible moans.

"Why are the consoles not dead?" Jonah asked out of curiosity.

"Because the Leviathan is not dead". Nykarene answered, seeing no point in keeping it a secret any longer as the last of the jolts shook through the ship. "She must have been comatose when we came aboard…"

"You mean she's still alive…in all this". Jonah felt sick to her stomach, imagining being in so much pain, and not having the ability to end it. "Did you know?"

Nykarene didn't want to answer…didn't like the truth and didn't want to lie. "Moya has had some kind of adverse reaction to a foreign substance". _The Follicle stimulant_ she thought not without a pang of guilt. She had thought the ship brain dead; she had not known that her work would cause anything besides mild discomfort in the early stages. She checked the sensors some more. "It has settled now, but it caused her great pain".

"_YOU_ caused her great pain?" Nykarene stood straight, startled. The voice had not been Jonah's, it was male and deep…coming through the translator microbes as Luxan. Swallowing slightly she turned to find herself facing the wrong end of a pulse blaster, held by what was unmistakably a Luxan warrior…his other arm around the unconscious Jonah's waist, the girl a victim of tonguing. "Who are you…who sent you?"

Nykarene was suddenly extremely grateful of her ability to hide feelings and keep herself calm. "We're explorers, nobody sent us". She raised her hands in a show of surrender. "We're unarmed". She emphasised the point by slowly opening her coat, showing him that she carried no weapons beneath.

"What did you do to Moya? The injection" His fingers tightened threateningly around the trigger, the aim of the gun not wavering.

_How could he KNOW about that_?

"We haven't harmed her?" She asked, feigning innocence.

The command became filled with a new sound, alien clicks and whistles completely incomprehensible to everyone except the Luxan, who understood every word, close to hyper rage as he pulled Jonah into his frame, the gun now pointed at her head. "Moya can sense your lies".

Another series of clicks and whistles.

"Your ship is injured…sick…hallucinating. I tell the truth".

Incomprehensible clicks and whistles…each syllable followed by the Luxan.

No escape…she couldn't lie…any time for transport? She couldn't just leave Jonah. The gun was still pointed at her head, the Luxan's fingers pressing down on the trigger…

"WAIT". The finger relaxed. "The girl hasn't hurt you or Moya, let her go". Nykarene pleaded. "She is not involved".

The Luxan nodded and lowered Jonah to the floor.

The Superior watched the expanse of space slide by at light speed, cycles turned to arns, arns to microts by the magnificent advancements of the engines. "We should reach Kelsa Yon within the arn sir". A Tech informed him, punctuating her report with a crisp salute.

"Notify me upon our arrival". The Superior smiled. Soon they would have the girl back, and in the chair she would tell them where the Illuminate was hiding…where they would be destroyed.

He returned to his quarters, and the ship continued its course. There would be no incident, no one in this region was stupid enough to approach a Peacekeeper.

Her neck was killing her.

Slowly Jonah opened her eyes, only to shut them tightly again as she was met with a bright light.

"She's coming around". Opened her eyes again…deep voice, a strange pair of eyes facing her…Luxan. Jonah jumped up quickly, trying to find something she could use as a weapon but coming up unsuccessful.

"Where…" She remembered standing on the bridge, realising that the ship was alive…feeling pain for it. Then darkness, had she passed out…she had been knocked out. "Where am I?"

"You're in the medical bay on board Moya". The Luxan spoke with an uncharacteristic softness as he allowed the girl time to calm down, keeping himself relaxed. "I am Ka D'Argo, Captain of this Leviathan".

"D'Argo". Jonah's mind flashed back to the diary…D'Argo, D'Argo…yes he had been on her home world, he had been a companion of her… "Father…you knew my Father. You were his friend".

"Father?" The Luxan Captain queried.

"My name is Jonah Crichton, daughter of the Regent John Crichton and Katralla of the sun". She bowed, and then quickly approached the Luxan, eagerly catching his gaze as excitement overtook her. "You knew my Father, you were there…is he here…where is he?"

D'Argo was still figuring everything out. "Your Crichton's daughter, from the Royal planet". Had it really been so long?

"Yes…Jonah. My Mother named me for him, I'm their daughter. I came here to find him. Is he here?"

D'Argo's initial amazement was replaced by a look of deep sadness, its intensity mellowed by age, but still present. "You came here seeking him". Jonah nodded, her smile wiped clean by his expression.

"He's here isn't he?" Jonah asked, fear clutching her chest. "He's here on Moya with you?" Tears found their way into her eyes.

"John Crichton…your father…died two cycles after we left your world. He and Aeryn were killed by the aliens of a planet called Qujaga". Jonah heard his words, heard the meaning, and let the tears fall. _Of course he's dead_ she thought _what did you expect after 100 cycles_ still to have come so far only to have it confirmed outright in one sentence. _Where will you go now? What will you do?_

"Killed". She repeated.

D'Argo shook his head. "I'm sorry to have to bear this news to you…we never thought we would…"

"You forgot about me…he forgot about me". _You hadn't even been born, you were a statue_ "What about the others". The crew she had read about.

"Zhaan died roughly six months after our departure from your world, saving Moya and her crew. After Crichton and Aeryn's death Rygel left to reclaim his throne…again. Guess he succeeded this time". The Luxan smiled. "The others stayed. By one race I was able to receive the implant which enabled me to communicate directly with Moya as her Captain, and we worked as merchants, transport, even got involved in a rebellion. Eventually Noranti passed away… Chiana and Stark".

"Noranti? Stark?" They had not been mentioned in the diaries.

"New additions. Noranti was an aged woman from a species I did not recognise, who passed away ten years after your Father… Stark was a Banik like your friend. He and Chiana died in the same attack that killed Pilot".

Jonah shook as she remembered the terrifying discovery of the symbiosis corpse.

"It was the Pathfinder species. By the time they had left Moya was crippled, and only I was still alive. Unable to function and beyond anybodies ability to heal but her own, Moya made her final journey to Kelsa Yon to live out the rest of her life". He closed his eyes. "She was so injured and so far away without Starburst but Moya was determined that if she was to die her body would rest alongside that of her sons". He sighed. "Her injuries proved not to be fatal, but Leviathan's can live for many thousands of cycles, and their natural healing process is slow especially with so few DRD's. Eventually she entered the coma, and I slept in one of the cold freezing pods we held, waiting for the time when I would be needed again". He opened his eyes and looked at her. "How old are you?"

"Me…almost eighteen".

The Luxan was quiet as he did the maths. "Then I have slept for almost sixty seven cycles".

"Did we wake you up?"

Nykarene sat in the corner of the cell, watching the DRD watching her in case she tried to escape…not that there was much point any way. She had no way of getting to the ship in time, and had already proven her inability to transport through a vacuum.

"Ka D'Argo tells me you have some explaining to do Nyka". Jonah…finally recovered from the effects of the venomous tongue the Luxan carried.

"So that's his name". Nykarene noted the information.

"Why did you hurt Moya?"

"I didn't know I was harming her…it wasn't my plan".

"Then what was?"

For a long moment Nykarene looked at the floor, the walls, anywhere but into Jonah's eyes. She had never been good at freely giving away information about herself and her past, it was a trait of her species as much as a personal attribute.

"I am the member of a resistant cell called the illuminate. Shortly before we met I infiltrated a Peacekeeper research base holding information and application tools for a mutation of the Leviathan race…the Talyn strain".

"Talyn strain?"

"An outlawed breed of Leviathan Gunship". Nykarene explained. "The peacekeepers had abandoned the project because the gunship did not function under any form of contemporary control, but they kept all information for it for when they ever found a…suitable method". She smiled. "At least they did till I stole it the tools and wiped the files clean".

Jonah wasn't amused.

"With the Talyn strain in my possession, I was supposed to find suitable…hosts…to carry the ships to full term. This Leviathan's birth canal is already adapted to carrying a gunship, and her 'apparent' brain dead state made Moya a perfect candidate from which to birth the first ships".

"Ships plural!" Jonah held the conversation. "For what?" She felt she already knew the answer.

"Remember what I told you about my people's enslavement". Nykarene's eye lost focus, as if peering into her own past. "We were a basic species, we didn't have space travel, didn't have weapons. When the Peacekeepers came we were easily conquered and we have had no way to fight back until now…take back our freedom, destroy the oppressors".

"Wipe out the Peacekeeper race?" Jonah was horrified.

"I would wipe out every species between here and the Hynerian Empire if it freed my people". Nykarene spoke through her teeth as she turned to face the opposite wall, her way of signalling the conversation as complete.

Jonah wasn't finished. "We destroyed the vials".

Nykarene was glad to be facing the other way, no longer able to hide her feelings. "Then the cause is lost".

"Not the cause, just one method". Jonah said. "I support your believes, I don't condone slavery of any form".

Nykarene was honestly confused. "Then why?"

"Because I DON'T condone the violation of an innocent Leviathan, or the mass genocide of an entire species, most of whom probably have nothing to do with your people's suffering. Yes by all rights Banik should be a free race, but that freedom shouldn't be achieved through bloodshed".

After some time the Banik spoke. "Tell Moya I'm sorry for her pain".

"She already knows…" Jonah looked at the DRD's blinking eye "…and for some farbot reason she and D'Argo have forgiven you. Guess I have to." She looked back at the younger girl. "Do you want me to get you anything to eat?"

Nykarene removed her mask to reveal a dark hollow where her energy usually glowed. "I can get it myself". Without another word she transported through the bars, re-coalesced to replace her mask and smiled.

"You mean you could have done that the whole time". Jonah was surprised and amused in equal measures.

Nykarene simply shrugged and walked past the Sebacean, the DRD following close behind. She took a few steps then turned back. "Thank you".

"For what". Jonah asked.

"Understanding".

"Who said I understood".

Nykarene nodded comprehensibly. She waited a few microts then left the corridor. Jonah did the same.

Through the DRD, Ka D'Argo had been watching the entire incident. He understood the actions of the rogue Banik. When he had learned that his own son was a slave he had been willing to risk everything to free him, and Moya had experienced first hand peacekeeper control under the collar. Despite everything they had already forgiven Nykarene…though it would be a long time before D'Argo would actually trust her.

For trust it was the same with Jonah, Crichton's daughter…a lot like her Father in terms of curiosity and strength, the same eyes the same style of personality. She had an innocence about her though, one that hid a great pain…leaving her family and life behind and entering a world of death, conspiracy and danger she wasn't accustomed to…and yet had adapted to with a skill also attributed to her parentage. In a few ways she was like a carbon copy, and yet she was so different in many others.

"She wants to see Qujaga, where he died". He reminded Moya. "I could take her but…but it would mean leaving you behind".

_I am not afraid. Take Jonah…teach her what she yearns to know and more…it is what Crichton would have wished. _

"The journey is long".

_We have patience_

"While I know I have rarely shown it, you have always been my most respected and valued ally".

_As have you, my protector…wait_

"What is it?" D'Argo saw with Moya's eyes, a ship…two ships moving through the dense nebula, scanning…searching...looking for Moya.

"D'Argo?" Jonah appeared beside the Luxan.

"Peacekeepers". D'Argo confirmed. "What the frell are they doing here?"

"They must be looking for me". Nykarene was stood in the doorway.

"If they are they're not looking any more". D'Argo announced. "We have been detected".

Outside the Peacekeeper ships surrounded Moya, all guns primed and ready to fire at the first sign of resistance, though it would be a futile action of the defenceless Leviathan. Prowlers were released to increase the barrier, pilots ready to board the ship as soon as ordered. "Leviathan vessel, your crew are to abandon their weapons and assemble in your command area".

"I'll go to them". Nykarene volunteered, already making her way to a transport pod.

"Oh no you won't". Jonah grabbed her. "This is no time to suddenly go heroic. There has to be something we can do". She looked at D'Argo. "D'Argo".

D'Argo was simply staring at her with unfocused eyes. "No". He whispered, talking not to the girls but to someone else…to Moya. "Moya is getting ready to starburst".

"Starburst". Jonah exclaimed. "But the engine might still be damaged; in her condition starburst could…"

"Starburst WILL kill her". Nykarene said, but Jonah was not about to let it happen.

"Moya". She called, hoping beyond hope that Moya was listening to her. "Moya don't do this…Moya please there has to be another way".

_A final wish, let my pain end, let me die in service as is the wish of my kind_

"Goodbye my friend?" D'Argo bowed his head, accepting the fate of his most valued ally…his home…his friend. Under her breathe Nykarene muttered a prayer, one she had heard the Stykera of her race use when people passed to the other side.

"Moya NO!" Jonah screamed as a blue light enveloped the vessel. She was going to die because of their arrival, because of her. She turned to face Nykarene and buried her face in the chanting Banik's shoulder as Moya pulled them through starburst…for the last time. Quickly D'Argo headed for the exit, pulling the girls into step behind him as he left the command…for the last time.

The starburst was instantaneous, Kelsa Yon melting around them, fading into the empty region of space beyond. Moya jolted as she was hit, one of the ships trying to prevent her starburst, but the shots came too late and she fully re-coalesced on the other side. She was still for a few eternal microts, then her entire infrastructure began to shudder violently as it broke down and collapse in on itself, almost enveloping the retreating ship, the last survivor.

Turbulence hit the ship, almost throwing Jonah into the console ahead of her, and sending Nykarene falling to the floor behind. D'Argo steered Lo'La round to face the collapsing Leviathan. He rarely cried, not on his own and definitely not in the presence of others, but he did as he watched his friend die, reduced to dust in the vast…cold vacuum of space.

_I am not afraid._

Silence surrounded the crew of theLo'La, no one speaking until a beeping sound indicated that the ship had verified their location. "A final gift my friend". D'Argo said, partially under his breath.

"Why, where are we?" Jonah asked through her subsiding sobs.

"Qujaga". He replied in disbelieve as he stared at the water covered planet below.


	7. Qujagas

**_The Uncharted Territories_**

**_Part 6 – Qujaga_**

**__**

**Farscape**** is the property of the Jim Henson Company**__

**I am not the Jim Henson Company**

Lo'La floated gently on the waves, more than strong enough to support the three figures sat on top.

"It's so peaceful here". Jonah finally said. Never had she known it to be truly tranquil before, never truly at rest.

The Luxan warrior nodded even though he did not agree, it has been over ninety cycles, and still he could hear himself scream as he watched his friends…it had been over ninety cycles. His son would be a man now, is he a warrior, a merchant, maybe even a priest…no unlikely that he was a priest, a warrior seemed more likely. He had had that spirit within him.

Nykarene had segregated herself from the others, sitting on the other side of the ship and staring out in the opposite direction, trying not to notice the sick feeling developing in the pit of her stomach. Moya was dead, dead because of the Peacekeepers coming after her, dead because of her. Oh she had been responsible for death before, even killed with her own hands, but always in self defence and never an innocent life.

No one had spoken about it much in the day that had passed, the ship floating on the calm waters while Jonah and D'Argo both followed the horizon. D'Argo had told the Princess stories about her Father, some so unbelievable that Jonah was convinced it was farca. So much has happened in just the two cycles since they had left her world…right up to his death.

"I had always believed that he was alive, I don't know why…just a gut feeling". Jonah finally told the last surviving member of Moya's crew. "But I was wrong, I should never have left my home world".

"Had you stayed, you would never have known what you know now". D'Argo said.

"Am I better of for it, for knowing any of it?" The Princess bit back. "In the space of barely a week I have discovered my Father to be unreal, my real Father to be dead, come close to joining him, seen a pilot that has, been chased by Peacekeepers and watched a sacrifice. Now I'm stuck on a water covered graveyard with no food, no fuel, and drackik of tension".

"Welcome to the Uncharted Territories". Nykarene said sarcastically.

"I wasn't speaking to you?" Jonah said, not having calmed down in the slightest. "Your part the reason I'm in this mess…wooahh". The Lo'La suddenly capsized slightly, sending the standing girl sprawling across the hull and into the calm but freezing water below.

"Jonah". D'Argo stood, staring at the Princess's landing site. "JONAH!" There was still no answer. He made ready to jump in after her, but then the ship began to rise, as if it was being carried by something underneath.

From where she was sat, Nykarene could see that lights were surrounding the Lo'La, getting brighter as the submerged entity neared the surface, the ship dwarfed by its immense size. On the hull also lay Jonah, a paler shade than she had been upon entering the sea, but otherwise unharmed by her experience…save for the initial shock of finding herself on the bio skin hull of a submerged ship.

A few feet away from where she lay, a doorway appeared in the skin and from it emerged a bipedal life form about her height, their skin a bluish green like the sea, covered in scales and shining as if damp. After a couple of microts contemplation they spoke. "You are not the Bihoshen". The voice a strange mixture of male and female, echoing. It also sounded relieved.

"Bihoshen?" Jonah said.

"When your ship broke out atmosphere, we feared that the Bihoshen had returned from the stars to take our people. It has been fifty cycles since they last appeared, but still the fear of them remains". The Alien shook his head as if changing his train of thought. "Follow me". He beckoned back towards the entrance. Jonah immediately followed, though D'Argo and Nykarene were both apprehensive, the former not wishing the leave the Lo'La unattended, the latter simply not wishing to go into the unknown.

The 'city ship' was like a Leviathan in terms of structure, with bio skin walls and curved corridors. But it was a lot brighter, and a lot more welcoming, though with the looks they were getting of other inhabitants the trio soon realised that visitors to the community where rare…if ever. They were left in what must have been spare quarters for half an arn, though little conversation broke past the silent wonderment that had befallen the trio. Finally their liason to this new species returned and took them to a large council room, the council within fully convened it seemed. Introductions were made, each of the council members suspicious of the outsiders as none of them had seen a Bihoshen before, and so did not know what to actually look for.

Finally, after much description of the city and its culture to which only Jonha was really listening to, the explanation began. "The Bihoshen first came to our world over one hundred cycles ago". The council leader spoke. "They would bring their ships, never physically attacking anything, just taking prisoners back to the mist. Eventually they forced our people to move to the undersea in hiding…"

"What kind of 'Mist'?" D'Argo asked.

"The mist exists on the edge of our solar system. Some say it is the doorway to another dimension, a circle of infinity existing independent of normal space time".

"Like a Centre Halo?" Nykarene queried. The alien looked at her, not fully recognising the term.

"Perhaps". She said, before continuing. "We never saw the Prisoners taken again. The last I saw of my own Father he was turned into the neutralising crystals they use to carry us, prevent any resistance in transport. In total they took over a dozen of our people".

D'Argo started at this sentence… neutralising crystals. John and Aeryn had been crystallised by the ship, then collected in a form of docking web unrecognised by the scanners, the attacking ship disappearing before Moya could even react. They had thought their friends dead, even held a human 'Funerl'…had they been wrong?

"Has anyone ever returned from the Mist?" He asked, hopefully.

"Never".

Jonah suddenly felt from D'Argo's expression that that question would soon have a very different answer.

"We require certain supplies, fuel and weaponry mainly for infiltration and rescue. Would you be willing to supply?"

"Ka D'Argo you forget that our people also were taken by the Bihoshen. The aid you offer, though driven by Your own needs, is greatly appreciated by our people".

Both bowed, and then the Liaison left the trio alone in their quarters.

"If this mist IS a Centre Halo, our best course of action would be to get away from it, FAR away from it". Nykarene argued, though her efforts were futile. "Halos are very dangerous; people have become frozen in time for ever, unable to move, unable to die until someone finally comes along with the common sense to blow them up".

The Luxan silenced her with a glare. "If there is a chance that Crichton and Aeryn are in there, I will take whatever risks are met".

"Frozen in time, they wouldn't have aged. They would still be alive". Jonah said with sudden realisation. "We can rescue them, this planets people as well, the Leader's Father".

"A rescue of up to fifteen people from an independent time stream, without any recon or strategic information…in fact without even a PLAN".

Jonah and D'Argo nodded in union.

Nykarene placed her hands together as if in prayer. "Yesterday Goddess they called MY race insane".

"You may stay here if that is your wish". D'Argo informed her.

"I would if either of you knew dren about Halos". Nykarene, though resided to her fate, still decided not follow as the two friends made their way to the surface of the city ship, ready to oversee the supplying of the Lo'La for their journey.

"She's right about this being dangerous". Jonah said.

D'Argo was still adamant in his decision. "For nearly a hundred cycles I have believed my friends to be dead when they have not been. I abandoned them once; I will not make that mistake again". His voice seemed even deeper as emotion set in.

"You didn't abandon them, you thought they were dead".

"We ran like cowards after they died, didn't even think to investigate. If we had followed the fighter, found the base". To Jonah the Luxan seemed only a few steps from hyper rage or worse.

"From what you told me Moya was both severely injured and unarmed; you wouldn't have stood a chance against these Bihoshen". Jonah sighed. "We probably don't even stand a chance now".

"Maybe that's why I'm not afraid". D'Argo wondered with some amusement.

"What?" Jonah was startled by this sudden change of subject.

"Inside joke". D'Argo gave no further explanation as the door to the surface opened.

The Lo'La and it's three crew members left Qujaga at dawn, following the coordinated path laid out for them until they were looking at The Mist.

Both Nykarene and D'Argo recognised it for what it was, truly Center Halo. But this was different from any one before it; it seemed changed, artificially modified.

On one side sat a small disk of light, like a hole in the continuum that the Halo held within. "What is that?" D'Argo asked.

"The sensors say it isn't connected to this dimension". Jonah confirmed, though she was a little baffled by the readings the sensors were given her.

"It's a ship time vortex. When a ship passes through it one way it connects the Centre Halo to that time, compensating for the difference of passage". Nykarene explained. "I've heard of them but this is the first time I've actually seen one".

"So when a ship leaves the other way, it returns to the time of the last entrance".

"Yes, theoretically".

"Well that strengthens the idea of a base being inside". Jonah stated. "It has to stay connected to the…its…outside world".

"Time for visual conformation". D'Argo activated an external control and the ship fazed for a few seconds, before returning to normal. A little addition…the Lo La was cloaked, made invisible to sensors of vision as it passed through the vortex, and entered another time.


	8. What Took You So Long?

**_The Uncharted Territories_**

**_Part 7 – What Took You So Long?_**

**__**

**No one that I own.**** I don't own none of it 'xept Jonha and Nykarene. My babies. **

A brief feeling of nausea overcame Jonah as the Lo'La passed into the vortex. She felt like she was indeed in two places at once, stretched across a vast, immeasurable distance. The ship itself seemed longer, everything and everyone fading as if not entirely present, as if parts were missing from their whole form.

Then a ramification, a sudden burst of energy it seemed that pulled everything back together, and forced anything still in Jonah's stomach into her throat. Swallowing the foul taste she tried to untie herself from the curled position she had adopted, looking out of the view port.

Instead of space she was seeing a brown gas, laced with black and endless. They passed through it, layer upon layer of the same gaseous substance, the same colour and pattern.

One of the consoles was conducting a silent count, but it was counting forever in a day, for time had no meaning here, no control over the mist.

Then the mist was parting; no something was blowing it away, making it thinner. They passed through into an open cavern within the walls of the centre halo…a hole kept free. Nykarene had said that a Halos mist could freeze objects forever, so it made sense that a hole would be made for the…"Frell".

The 'base' they had been expecting was more like a complete colony, a civilisation living within the halo, inhabiting a matrix of interconnected buildings and modules upon a huge space station structure similar to a commerce station, only at lease twice the size. The buildings were well lit on the inside, indicating that it was an active station.

The Lo'La performed a complete revolution before finding a suitable port for docking, the door already open and ready to accept incoming ships. Unfortunately this was the first problem in their lack of plan. "If we dock, won't we be detected?" Jonah asked.

"We're not going to dock". D'Argo told her.

The mist of a Center Halo was a presence within the vacuum of space, holding a rudimentary…but present atmosphere. It wasn't breathable, but it didn't need to be, it still protected them from the vacuum.

Jonah quickly climbed onto D'Argo's back with her arms about his shoulders and legs around his waist. "I want to just say that this is a bad idea".

"Agreed". D'Argo nodded and Jonah started to force herself into a hyperventilation fit, keeping it up for six breathes, then taking a deep one to hold. Tapping him quickly on the shoulder to signal her readiness she braced herself quickly as the Luxan jumped.

It was like flying as they glided along a thick tope through the water like air and…somewhat ungracefully…landed on the station hull. Quickly D'Argo swung himself round and into the airlock, forcing the door closed behind them and the lock to pressurise. A sudden thought came to him, but the panic was quickly quelled when Jonah took a deep breathe of the air, proving that this Bihoshen species breathed oxygen and nitrogen just like most others.

Jonah took a few more breathes, waiting for the burning of her deprived lungs to subside. "We should get out of this airlock. They're bound to notice it's pressurised".

The Luxan forced the internal door open, checked the passageway, and then guided her out. "If all goes to plan, they will think it an error". He led the Sebacean through the empty corridors, although neither of them knew the way. Finally they found a small alcove, situated beneath what appeared to be a flight of stairs…a bipedal race then…but hidden in shadow by a well placed console. They crept inside, D'Argo reaching for the communicator badge. "Any luck".

Static. _"About frelling time, I thought you guys were dren". _

"Nyka your faith in us is reassuring". Jonah replied.

"Have you started the scans?" D'Argo said, business as usual.

_"First two tiers are done so far…none yet…third tier…and…WAIT". _

"What". D'Argo almost dropped the communicator.

_"Fifth Tier, second section.__ There's a DNA signature that part matches Jonah's. A Sebacean signature near that…they're weak but alive". _

"Alive". D'argo couldn't help loosing his composure for a few precious moments.__

_"Fourth teir second section, that's one section back and three tiers up from your location"._ Nykarene added. _"You're lucky, judging by the level of activity it looks like night time on the colony, and they obviously don't feel the need for heavy internal security_".

"Must be part Peacekeeper". Jonah said, remembering what the Banik had told her about the ease of her last infiltration.

D'Argo wasn't listening; he was now in full soldier mode. "One section back and three tiers up…come on". He quickly grabbed the Sebacean girl and pulled her back into the open and up the stairs they had hidden beneath, carefully but quickly following the directions that Nykarene, studying the mapping scans from the Lo'La, was giving them.

The Banik had been right about the lack of security presence, they only met a few guards along the way, most easily hidden from behind consoles and the occasional crate. Only one had proven a problem, and he had been easily dispatched by the skill of the Luxan. Jonah started when the head of the unconscious alien seemed to fall apart, revealing a crushed mess of eyes and teeth. "Bihoshen?" She asked, gagging slightly at the mangled mess of the face.

The Luxan didn't answer as he quickly carried the limp form into a hiding place, taking its weapon as he did so.

Nykarene had sung through every song she knew, several poems, and retold a story to the empty ship. She had run out of things to occupy her time, save confirming the odd direction over the comm. They were now a tier below their friend's cell, so close they would be able to touch them soon. Despite herself Nykarene couldn't help feeling somewhat excited for her friend who would soon meet her Father for the first time.

A red light started blinking on the console, and a strange Luxan voice filled the ship. Even with translator microbes Nykarene had trouble following the dialect of the ship, which seemed to speak in an ancient form of D'Argo's tongue. "Slow down will you".

The ship obeyed, but it was no less incomprehensible until it was replaced with a grating feminine voice, an intercepted communication.

"Ship detail Aquan. Current Temporal Location 103421.3".

D'Argo slowly crept up behind the unsuspecting guard, knocking him flat before he even had time to breathe in response. Stepping over the unconscious form the Luxan continued up one corridor, Jonah up the other, both looking through the glass window of every cell. The first few on D'Argo's side were empty, a dark grey metal with no beds or added comforts save those needed for survival 'functions', and even they were pathetically primitive in their design. The cell was one big moral breaker, as demonstrated by the state of the first prisoner he saw.

His breath caught as he forced the door open, causing the figure huddled in the corner to flinch wildly, hitting the wall he was already pressed against, but without giving the entrance a glance, he had seen the sight a hundred times, why give it any more attention.

D'Argo approached the shaking figure slowly; raising his arm as he knelt down…not making any sudden movements…until his hand was directly under the chin and tilting the head back so that their eyes met.

His face was bruised in places, with a permanent scar running down one side as if the face had been cut open. The eyes stared at him for what felt like a cycle, the expression at first one of detachment, then disbelieve…finally hope. "Yo D what took yah". The figure said no more as he buried his face in the Luxan's broad shoulder, his shaking replaced by shivering sobs as he felt joy for the first time in what for him had been over a cycle in the cell.

The wall she was facing was metallic, her reflection somewhat visible in the rusted face. It was the same as it had been yesterday, the day before, the day before, the day before, but still she studied it, still she studied it even when the door behind her opened. Funny, feeding time seemed earlier today.

"Are…are you Officer Aeryn Sun?" The voice was shaking as it asked her name. They had never used her name before, never asked what it was, she had almost forgotten what it was.

She turned to face the newcomer, and instantly recognised the eyes in the different face.

"John?" The head against his shoulder nodded. "John is anyone else with you…Aeryn?"

John leant back in the Luxan's embracing grip, looking into his face. "Oh God Aeryn".

"John". His gaze was guided over his friends shoulder, towards the door where she stood, her hair matted, her face as disbelieving and scarred as his own, her eyes hollow, but still she was…would always be…

"Aeryn". With D'Argo's help John was able to rise, only to stumble as she caught him in her arms, holding him, kissing his face, his eyes, his lips. They breathed each other in for the first time in a cycle, tears melting into one long stream. D'Argo was stood behind John the whole time, and Aeryn forever the soldier rested an outstretched hand behind the Human's back to rest upon the Luxan's own, smiling through her tears. "What took you so long?" She mirrored John's question, for even in the place where time didn't exist she could still feel it passing.

_"Jonah where are you"._

Out of both respect for the friends, and a strange sense of confusing fear, Jonah had remained standing just outside the doorway holding the communicator. Both John and Aeryn looked round and noticed her for the first time now, John looking straight at her with eyes so much like her brothers, so much like Jonah's own. "Nykarene". The Princess finally managed to say, though her voice was choked. "This is not the time".

_"Time…this is not the time to argue about time…we don't have any". _The Banik sounded frantic, as a race they had never been good at handling pressure. _"There's a ship entering the base in less than 400 microts". _She explained. _"It's stardate dimension is 103421.3, that's sixty seven years ago at leas…"_ the Banik paused, possibly to take a breathe _"…and remember the reset on the vortex? If that ship enters before we leave…"_

"What?" Jonah asked.

_"We are going to be trapped in the past". _

A quick check of the other cells revealed no prisoners. It had taken Jonah and D'Argo half an arn to actually reach the prison level. They had less than half that time to get back to the dock.

D'Argo was slightly confused by the panic this had caused, but then he felt he had nothing to tie him to the present day…John and Aeryn were there beside him…albeit weak…Moya was dead, Chiana was dead.

Jonah had other family beside John however, and Nyka had a world to return to. Not to mention the confusion that travelling half a century into the past would cause.

That was why he only complained until the retreating quartet came face to face with a force of security that seemed to fill the corridor on both sides. Looked like one of the unconscious guards they had conveniently left behind had recovered early. D'Argo managed to drop the first few with ease, but after a while the number approaching them was in the dozens.

A part of Crichton that had been groggy until now finally started to make better sense of the world as he fought the best he could against the flood of security. Unless a miracle took place they had e no way of getting to the docking ring.

And less than two minutes to go.


End file.
